This is going back a few years when we were having a very cold day where I live, and the battery in my car was being temperamental. My car refused to start one morning, and I didn't know what to do. I saw that my neighbour was getting ready to leave for work, so I went up to him. (Sidenote: we'd never met or spoken to each other up to that point.)

I said "Excuse me - do you have jumper cables?" He looked startled and said "... Yes." "Would you mind giving me a boost? My car won't start."

His response: "No, because then I'll be late for work."

Now - I realize that he didn't know me (although he saw me walking across the back lane, so he knew I lived close by). I also realize that I was asking him to do a favour for a stranger, and that doing said favour would have taken a few minutes. But it would only have been five minutes, tops - probably not even that.

Because he refused to help me, I had to call the auto club where I live, and the upshot was that I was late for work - about three hours late.

I don't think either of you were. For all you know, he could have already been running behind. Would it have been kind of him to sacrifice being on time for work for a stranger? Sure, but it wasn't rude of him not to do so.

This is going back a few years when we were having a very cold day where I live, and the battery in my car was being temperamental. My car refused to start one morning, and I didn't know what to do. I saw that my neighbour was getting ready to leave for work, so I went up to him. (Sidenote: we'd never met or spoken to each other up to that point.)

I said "Excuse me - do you have jumper cables?" He looked startled and said "... Yes." "Would you mind giving me a boost? My car won't start."

His response: "No, because then I'll be late for work."

Now - I realize that he didn't know me (although he saw me walking across the back lane, so he knew I lived close by). I also realize that I was asking him to do a favour for a stranger, and that doing said favour would have taken a few minutes. But it would only have been five minutes, tops - probably not even that.

Because he refused to help me, I had to call the auto club where I live, and the upshot was that I was late for work - about three hours late.

The only way either of you was, was if you were upset with him. Some people have workplaces where being 5 minutes late isn't an issue. Some people need to be there on time.

This is going back a few years when we were having a very cold day where I live, and the battery in my car was being temperamental. My car refused to start one morning, and I didn't know what to do. I saw that my neighbour was getting ready to leave for work, so I went up to him. (Sidenote: we'd never met or spoken to each other up to that point.)

I said "Excuse me - do you have jumper cables?" He looked startled and said "... Yes." "Would you mind giving me a boost? My car won't start."

His response: "No, because then I'll be late for work."

Now - I realize that he didn't know me (although he saw me walking across the back lane, so he knew I lived close by). I also realize that I was asking him to do a favour for a stranger, and that doing said favour would have taken a few minutes. But it would only have been five minutes, tops - probably not even that.

Because he refused to help me, I had to call the auto club where I live, and the upshot was that I was late for work - about three hours late.

The only way either of you was, was if you were upset with him. Some people have workplaces where being 5 minutes late isn't an issue. Some people need to be there on time.

Yeah, this. I've worked places where being five minutes late could be a firing offense--yes, even the first time.

This is going back a few years when we were having a very cold day where I live, and the battery in my car was being temperamental. My car refused to start one morning, and I didn't know what to do. I saw that my neighbour was getting ready to leave for work, so I went up to him. (Sidenote: we'd never met or spoken to each other up to that point.)

I said "Excuse me - do you have jumper cables?" He looked startled and said "... Yes." "Would you mind giving me a boost? My car won't start."

His response: "No, because then I'll be late for work."

Now - I realize that he didn't know me (although he saw me walking across the back lane, so he knew I lived close by). I also realize that I was asking him to do a favour for a stranger, and that doing said favour would have taken a few minutes. But it would only have been five minutes, tops - probably not even that.

Because he refused to help me, I had to call the auto club where I live, and the upshot was that I was late for work - about three hours late.

The only way either of you was, was if you were upset with him. Some people have workplaces where being 5 minutes late isn't an issue. Some people need to be there on time.

Yeah, this. I've worked places where being five minutes late could be a firing offense--yes, even the first time.

I have to say, there would be a lot of mornings where I'd be sitting in the parking lot reading for 15 minutes, thanks to schedule padding.

It's OK to ask for a favor, it's OK to decline to perform the favor.He may have had a job where being late has bad consequences (an attorney showing up late for court?) or he may have been told there'd be consequences if he showed up late one more time.

My father gave me jumper cables as a college grad present; he said, 'You can always find a helpful person, but you can't always find a helpful person with jumper cables.' I have definitely found that philosophy to be true, over the years. And now they make a little portable jump box that you can keep in your trunk, so you can jump your own car when necessary!

And sometimes when you loan out the jumper cables, they don't get returned.

Now I have one of those portable jump boxes in the hallway, charging.

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SS on the way back from picking VorSon up after his college classes.

We are trying to merge from an entrance ramp into two lanes of traffic on an overpass at highway speeds (60 mph). There is a white car "ahead" of where I will be merging and another (larger) black vehicle behind where I will be merging in the lane that I *must* merge to. The other lane is not occupied for several car lengths ahead of and behind both vehicles (totally empty).

I am trying to adjust my speed to merge between the two vehicles because there is another vehicle behind me (entry ramp to get to highway speeds is one lane wide and rises from ground level to overpass level very quickly - there is literally nowhere to dodge to.

So the black vehicle speeds up when I speed up, slows down when I slow down, and generally adjusts its speed so that the two of us will either slam into each other's sides or I will have to come to a complete halt on the ramp and get rear ended........

At the last possible moment, the black vehicle speeds up enough that I can slide in behind him, missing him by approximately a meter/three feet....and the vehicle behind me is swerving into the far lane (still empty) in a successful attempt not to hit either my gray vehicle or the black vehicle that I am now right behind (it slowed down) so I am having to brake to avoid running up its tail pipe.

VorSon is not used to me using Snarky's and Evil's vocabulary......which is somewhat more colorful.....but since I would have been the one injured or killed, he is quite understanding about my angst.

The vehicle behind me got smart and hit their gas pedal to get away from the black and gray vehicles. I couldn't get out from behind him until the next lane of merging vehicles (another ramp about ten or twelve car lengths ahead of where we barely missed each other) got out of the way (overpass goes back to ground level and the access road merges with the traffic on the overpass.....by a stadium and a regional airport (Hwy 6 between University and Alt 90, for the Houston area people).

It took until the light to get away from that pickup......never did get a look at who was driving - deeply tinted windows.....

Yesterday was gorgeous. 72 degrees, a bit windy, but awesome. So of course I had to take the motorcycle out for a spin. First time out since last October. Tons of fun, even though I only went around the block a few times.

I'm approaching my street, there's a pickup about three car lengths in front of me. I turn on my turn signal, downshift to second and slow down. The pickup passes my street and I start to make my turn. Then another car that was on my street at the stop sign PULLS OUT TO TURN LEFT! I was already leaning and turning, so the car almost hit me. I was swerving to get out of the way, and since I was already leaning, the bike almost went out from under me. I managed to correct it and rev it so I shot past, coming within four inches of the corner curb, and I looked over my shoulder at the car, and the driver was leaning out of the window SCREAMING at me, and then she honked her horn. I couldn't hear what she was screaming over the sound of my bike, but from the look on her face, she wasn't complimenting me on my riding boots.

While there is a chance she could have missed seeing me if she wasn't paying close attention (I was wearing bright red, with a red scarf in my hair), there is NO way she couldn't hear my bike. It's a Harley, and it growls pretty loud. Hubby says he can hear me coming from two blocks away.

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English doesn't borrow from other languages, it follows them down dark alleys and beats them up and searches their pockets for loose grammar.

I was driving back from my Dad's place this morning on a 4 lane highway. At one point, there is bridge work being done and it goes from 4 lanes to 2 over one bridge. The speed limit is 70 km/hr. I slow right down to the speed limit in construction zones. A pick up was tailgating me right through the construction zone. Once I came out of the zone, I moved to the right lane and started accelerating up to the speed I would normally drive, according to the speed limit. Truck remained in the left lane and passed me. As I came around the corner, still in the right lane, suddenly, the truck was trying to occupy the same space I was in! Fortunately, I was able to swerve into the on-ramp lane and truck finally realized I was there. He pulled in behind me and stayed behind me until he exited. I was never so glad to see someone exit because I was worried if he did pass me, he'd fail to check his blind spot again. Bacon-fed-knave...

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

Thanks for the info, I'm American and haven't heard that term. Honestly, it seems dismissive to call a group of people something they don't call themselves.

I've heard and seen plenty of people from the US use the term--I have.

That surprises me. I have never ever heard it (or even seen it written) until today.

FWIW, I've only seen it used here on these boards, over the past year or so. I think it's a useful shorthand for non-Americans to use for us, it doesn't seem pejorative or dismissive, and it distinguishes us from other residents of the New World - so I'm OK with it. I can see that for people who live elsewhere than 'here', it can get long winded and confusing to distinguish us from other residents of North or South America. I'll never use it, and I think it's a bit odd, but, meh? Doesn't bother me at all. Better intentions behind it than call us all Effing Americans, right?

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Double MIL now; not yet a Grandma. Owner of Lard Butt Noelle, kitteh extraordinaire! True fact: Eggs can be just as hard to unload as zucchini!

USians isn't a familiar term to me either, but the meaning was immediately apparent. Probably preferable to 'Yanks'.

I've heard the term but it isn't preferable to 'Yanks'. 'USians' carries the connotation of being users. It says that we use the rest of the world and contribute nothing. That isn't true and I don't like it. No one here uses that term to describe their country of birth or residence.

Why? Are you reading it as Useians and that's why it offends you? Because that's not at all how I read it! (Not saying my way is better, just REALLY different than that) I read it as You Ess ians - something of a portmanteau word where you say the initials and then tack a real suffix on it. As completely short hand to avoid typing out United States ians, which, being lazy in typing myself, I completely understand and do, when emailing back and forth with my bestie.

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Double MIL now; not yet a Grandma. Owner of Lard Butt Noelle, kitteh extraordinaire! True fact: Eggs can be just as hard to unload as zucchini!

This is a really interesting, fun thread. I would hate for it to get shut down over USians. Can we move on?

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In the United States today, there is a pervasive tendency to treat children as adults, and adults as children. The options of children are thus steadily expanded, while those of adults are progressively constricted. The result is unruly children and childish adults. ~Thomas Szasz

I was at TJ Maxx on Sunday picking up a casserole dish and a pyrex measuring cup I happened to need and randomly stumble across, and walking up to the register I was called to when a woman walked in the front door, past the girl waiting at the return line and stepped in front of me.

The cashier told her "Ma'am, there's only one line, and I'm getting ready to help this lady, you'll need to go wait in the line so that I can help the people here first." Then SS argued with her that it was only a minute. Cashier held her ground and sent SS to the main line (where the girl who had been waiting walked over to- it was one of those one place to line up for regular purchases, one for returns, but only ONE cashier was open lay outs).

SS decided to walk the opposite way of the line, so rather than ending up behind the girl who had been waiting, she walked up in front of her. She then tried to argue with the cashier again that she was there FIRST.

Apparently the cashier has a titanium spine though, because she told her that she was going to be helping the girl who was waiting, THEN it'd be her turn, and told me (out of ear shot) that she does this act MULTIPLE times a week because "It's JUST ONE MINUTE, why should I WAIT?".

I have mentioned before that I volunteer at a museum. I primarily do programs for schools. Most schools prefer to have the students study the subject during the year, then do our program in the spring, after they've learned about the subject. Consequently, May is the most popular month for our programs and they book up rapidly. We warn schools to book the program before Christmas to be sure they can get the program they wan ton the day they want.

Most schools make arrangements themselves, but some use "educational travel companies." These companies will put together a whole tour. Some tours involve visiting several sites related to a subject (for example, a state capitol, a battlefield, and a history museum.) Others combine education with leisure activities, such as an amusement park. Some, unfortunately, are really pleasure tours, with something educational thrown in to justify the school's calling it a "field trip."

The other day, the person who does the booking was laughing about SS teachers who are calling now for programs next month and insist that "You will give us Program X on Day Y and nothing else is acceptable. Just make it happen." When they finally understand that it won't happen, they announce "Fine, we'll go to [other site] instead!" as if that will make us accommodate them. Guess what. The other sites are as popular as we are. The teacher often calls back and sheepishly says "we'll take any program on any day. Please, please, please."

That's not the my contribution to this thread however. This is (a few identifying things changed):

MP = Museum PersonSS = You know who

SS: I'm a teacher at [school]. I want Program X on Day YMP: [spiel about why it's already fully booked. ]SS: But I called first! I should get it. MP: How do you know you called first? You have no idea when Other School called. SS: Well, I called 6 months ago, during that Festival thing. [During Annual Festival, museum staff work 12 hour days at a full run. All calls go to voice mail to be dealt with later. (There are provisions for emergency calls)]MP: I don't recall getting a message from you that week.SS: I didn't want to leave a message. but I still called first!MP: [silence while jaw drops]

SS: I was planning on going to Scary Rides R Us, but the headmaster is insisting on your program instead.[MP and SS work out a compromise program]

A few days later:SS: I'm canceling. We are going to Scary Rides instead.

A few days later:Headmaster (HM): I'm calling about Program X...MP: SS called and cancelled. He said you are going to Scary Rides instead. HM: [silence while jaw drops]HM: No. We are not going to Scary Rides. Can we still do Program X?[arrangements are made]HM: Send your invoice to SS.

MP: Hello, SS? I just talked to the Headmaster who says there is no way the students are going to Scary Rides. I need a mailing address to invoice you for Program X. SS: [silence while jaw drops]